The invention relates to a light guide for a vehicle lighting unit, particularly for a motor vehicle, a rear view device comprising such a light guide, a method for producing such a light guide, and a motor vehicle having such a rear view device and/or such a light guide.
Various types of vehicle lighting units are known from the prior art, such as indicators, headlights and taillights, fog lights, etc. Conventional indicators are installed at the front or at the rear of the vehicle. Other embodiments of indicators are integrated in the outside mirrors. These additional indicators fulfill a safety function and enhance the vehicle from an aesthetic point of view. LEDs (light emitting diodes) and, to an increasing extent, light guide structures made of plexiglass are used for the mirror indicators.
A light guide not of the type in question is known from DD 20 2011 051 503 U1 where a flat material is disposed transverse to the light direction.
In addition, light guides not of the type in question are known from EP 2 450 726 A1 and DE 10 2010 018 028 A1; these do not comprise an optically effective flat material but a reflection unit is formed from a plurality of microparticles.
DE 10 2011 103 200 discloses a light window for signal lamps, particularly for indicators in outside mirrors using an optical film. The optical film is molded with a coating on one side, wherein the coating forms a light guide. The optical film comprises decoupling structures for decoupling the light from the light guide. The light window is produced in a single injection molding step in which the coating is molded onto the film. The film can have a protective layer on the hollow form side to prevent the film from damage during injection molding.
When designing indicators and other types of vehicle lighting units, it is not just functionality but also quality and aesthetic appearance that must be taken into account. It is therefore desirable to provide a simple manufacturing method for producing light guides for vehicle lighting units which decouple light efficiently and have an esthetically pleasing design at the same time.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a light guide for a vehicle lighting unit which provides suitable decoupling of light and is also easy to produce.